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Dive Brief:

The latest "Clean200" list of publicly traded companies "that are leading the way with solutions for the transition to a clean energy future" includes multiple names from the waste and recycling industry in its Q1 2018 update. This list is compiled by the nonprofit As You Sow and research firm Corporate Knights.

Covanta ranked 48th out of 200. According to the report, its market capitalization was $2.21 billion as of Jan. 2018. An estimated $1.66 billion was generated as "clean revenue."

Republic Services ranked 49th, with an estimated market capitalization of $22.25 billion. An estimated $1.6 billion of its revenue was generated from "clean" energy.

Dive Insight:

The Clean200 list was started in 2016 to show the financial potential of fossil fuel alternatives. Since then, this group of companies has significantly outperformed both the S&P 1200 Global Energy Index and the S&P Global Clean Energy Benchmark.

The latest report says this cohort "continues to indicate that demand and market forces are driving the inexorable transition away from fossil fuels into a clean energy economy." Leaders in this latest edition include Siemens Ag-Reg, Toyota and Schneider Electric.

For some environmental groups, the definition of clean energy ideally wouldn't include waste-to-energy facilities or landfills, but both offer sources that are outside the traditional fossil fuel arena. Covanta and Republic have been on this list since the start and have sought to emphasize their progress on sustainability goals in recent years.

While Covanta has seen energy revenue decline to due other market factors, the company continues to work on maximizing its outputs through new efficiency measures. According to its latest sustainability report, Covanta exported a net of 9.1 million MWh to the grid in 2016 and is close to one-third of the way along on its goal of 60,000 MWh hours worth of energy efficiency improvements by 2020.

According to Republic's latest sustainability report, the company has 71 landfill gas-to-energy operations around the country. Combined, this all "reduces carbon dioxide emissions at an equivalent to the electricity used by approximately 208,000 homes." The company has also been investing in new solar installations on closed landfill sites in states such as Massachusetts.

Among the 200 companies, the majority are outside of the U.S., with "Greater China" as the current leader. Some of those companies also have business with connection to the waste and recycling industry in multiple countries. Notable names include BYD, China Everbright, Sacyr, Takuma and Cleanaway Waste Management.